- One Ring Zero
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One Ring Zero
One Ring Zero Joshua Camp and Michael HearstBackground information Origin Richmond, Virginia; Brooklyn, New York, United States Genres Indie rock
Art rock
World
Baroque pop[1]Years active 1998–present Labels Urban Geek Record, Planetary Records, Barbes Records Website oneringzero.com Members Michael Hearst
Joshua Camp
Timothy Quigley
Ian Riggs
Ben HolmesPast members Greg Stare
Paul Watson
Mark Snyder
Taylor Bergren-Chrisman
John Gotschalk
Randy Mendicino
Josh Roseman
Lee Epstein
Matt Grason
Sean Moran
Anthony Mascorro
Scot Fitzsimmons
Karen WaltuchOne Ring Zero is a modern music group led by Joshua Camp and Michael Hearst that melds many genres and sounds to create a unique type of music.
Contents
Instruments
Michael plays the theremin and Joshua plays the accordion. They both play the claviola and prove to be extremely versatile musicians, often switching instruments for each song. Other instruments include a toy piano, a melodica, a metallophone, jones-O-phone, cajón and a series of everyday sounds looped and altered to create textures and rhythms. Using all these instruments (or noises) together One Ring Zero creates a sound that defies genre. There is an undeniable klezmer influence throughout their music but also a modern rock or indie influence. The band has been denoted "Lit Rock" by the media but they seem to defy any singular name. Both Joshua and Michael sing, Michael bass and Joshua tenor. They normally play with a six piece band now, including of a trumpet, drum kit, and bass guitar.
Appearances
One Ring Zero on NPR's "Fresh Air" (2004).[1]
One Ring Zero on A&E Television's "Breakfast with the Arts" (2007).
One Ring Zero's on NPR's "Morning Edition" (2007).[2]
One Ring Zero has also performed at music venues and cultural institutions including the Whitney Museum of Art, Central Park SummerStage, The Kennedy Center, Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre, Spring Scream in Taiwan, Era in Tokyo, New Morning in Paris, The Chicago World Music Festival, and the Fundación Príncipe de Asturias in Spain.
As Smart As We Are (aka The Author Project)
On their critically acclaimed album "As Smart As We Are", published authors and writers wrote lyrics on request, which Hearst and Camp then set to music. Some writers wrote basic chord progressions or requested a certain genre for their song to fall under but for the most part Michael and Joshua wrote their own music for the lyrics.
Contributing authors included:
- Jonathan Ames
- Margaret Atwood
- Paul Auster
- Michael Chabon
- Clay McLeod Chapman
- Dave Eggers
- Amy Fusselman
- Neil Gaiman
- Myla Goldberg
- Ben Greenman
- Daniel Handler
- A.M. Homes
- Denis Johnson
- Lawrence Krauser
- Jonathan Lethem
- Rick Moody
- Aaron Naparstek
- Darin Strauss
This provides a large variation in each song's theme, feel, and over all sound. Some lyrics are more poetic, while others tell stories.
Planets
For One Ring Zero's 2010 release, Planets, the band composed thirteen new songs to represent the solar system and beyond. Tracks on the album include "An Introduction To Planets," "Mercury," "Venus," "Earth," "Mars Part I," "Mars Part II," "Jupiter," "63 Moons," "Saturn," "Uranus," "Neptune," "Pluto," and "Exoplanets." The concept was inspired by Gustav Holst's nearly century-old orchestral suite "The Planets." As Hearst and Camp put it, "Seemed like maybe it was time to revisit our solar system with some new tunes.” [2]
Discography
Albums
- One Ring Zero "Tranz Party” (1999) (Planetary Records)
- One Ring Zero "Alice” (2001) (Urban Geek Records)
- One Ring Zero "Interludes and Out-takes from The Pumpkin Pie Show” (2001) (Urban Geek Records)
- One Ring Zero "Memorandum” (2002) (Urban Geek Records)
- One Ring Zero "As Smart As We Are” (2004) (Soft Skull Press)
- One Ring Zero and Rick Moody (2004) (Isota Records)
- One Ring Zero "New York Spleen” French Edition (2005) (Naïve Records)
- Sophie Auster (2005) (Actes Sud / Naïve Records)
- One Ring Zero "As Smart As We Are” Deluxe Edition with DVD (2006) (Barbes Records)
- One Ring Zero "Wake Them Up” (2006) (Barbes Records)
- One Ring Zero "Wake Them Up" Japanese Edition (2007) (MoorWorks)
- One Ring Zero "Live at Barbes" (2008) (Barbes Records)
- One Ring Zero “Ten Years Of Extra Stuff” (2009) (Urban Geek Records)
- One Ring Zero "Planets" (2010) (Urban Geek Records)
- One Ring Zero "Planets" Japanese Edition (2010) (MoorWorks)
- One Ring Zero "As Smart As We Are" Japanese Edition (2010) (MoorWorks)
EPs
- One Ring Zero “The Sirens of Red Hot” (2004) (Isota Records)
- One Ring Zero and Rick Moody (2004) (Isota Records)
Video
- One Ring Zero “Addendum” (2005) (Urban Geek Records)
- As the subject of “As Smart As They Are - The Author Project” (2007)
Notes and references
A documentary called As Smart As They Are: The Author Project was made about the duo. Directed by Joe Pacheco it shows the evolution of the album "As Smart As We Are".
One Ring Zero is currently working on an album of songs set to recipes by various chefs, including Mario Batali, Chris Cosentino, Andrea Reusing, David Chang, John Besh, Tom Colicchio, and Mark Kurlansky, among others.[3]
- ^ Jen Carlson (2008-04-03). "One Ring Zero, Band". The Gothamist. http://gothamist.com/2008/03/04/one_ring_zero_b.php. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ^ http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/09/one-ring-zero/#ixzz119Xg5uYN
- ^ http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/09/one-ring-zeros-recipe-music-project.html
External links
Categories:- American experimental musical groups
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